Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction

"Its a sin to kill a mockingbird." Mockingbirds don't do anything besides make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat gardens, nest in corncribs, instead they just simply sing their hearts out for us. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee she talks about her childhood and everything she remembers. She recognizes the fact that being a southerner, it was a source of shame to some members that they had no recorded ancestors, there was tons of racism, and everyone in the town of Maycomb delt with…

Everyone should know the 1883 classic book “Pinocchio”. Later adapted into a movie in the 1940s, Pinocchio follows the story of Geppetto, a woodworker who upon seeing a falling star, wishes the puppet creation he had made would become a “real boy”. As the night fell and hours went by, the “blue fairy” grants Geppetto's wish and assigns an anthropomorphic cricket otherwise known as Jiminy Cricket, to be his conscience, the job of helping Pinocchio learn right from wrong weighing on his shoulders.…

Scout’s Coming of Age Experience Have you ever wondered what made Scout Finch, Scout Finch? Many events lead to Scout developing from a rebellious little girl to a calmer but yet still rebellious young woman. Scout Finch is the main character in To Kill A Mockingbird and this story is told from her point of view. She is a short fused little girl that has been in many schoolyard fights and throughout the story she changes in many ways. She has a big imagination and would do anything for her…

Nelson Mandela said, “...that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Greenberg). This perfectly describes one of the themes from Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Most of the characters sometime in the book have to find inner courage to face fear or opposition. However, one figure stands out from all the rest of the characters. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley is the most courageous of all…

The Prevalence of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird Prevalent means most frequent or commonly widespread. Prejudice is a strong unreasonable feeling of disliking or not trusting someone. The novel: To Kill A Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, is a story in the setting of a fictional sleepy town called Maycomb in 1930's Alabama. The novel is about a young, intelligent daughter of a lawyer, called Jean Louise Finch, (known as Scout) and her adventures in a world of injustice and racism. Prejudice is a…

In the novel, We are called to Rise by Laura McBride, Bashkim is an 8 year immigrant child from Albania. In contrast to his impulsive and volatile father, perceptive mother, he is introverted and passive. There are many ways in which Bashkim demonstrates his sensitivity in the novel. The unanticipated response he received from Luis dismayed and nauseated him. His letter was innocent,candidly written and consisted of a brief summary of his life. Bashkim must have looked forward to reading…

Standing accused of something never feels good, but being convicted of a crime that a person didn’t commit or feeling pain that they do not deserve feels even wrongfully worse. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, characters’ lives are greatly affected in many ways by injustice. In the decision of his court case, Tom Robinson is accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit. Jem and Scout are attacked wrongfully by Bob Ewell, who tries to get back at Atticus. Rejected and hated by…

Two books that compare well to each other are A List of Cages by Robin Roe and Your Voice is all I Hear by Leah Scheier. In A List of Cages, the author writes from two perspectives about two boys (Julian and Adam) and the conflicts they help each other though such as the abusive uncle, and the bullies. In Your Voice is all I Hear the author writes the book from the perspective of a girl (April) dealing with the struggles of having a schizophrenic boyfriend (Jonah) and how that affects her…

To Kill A Mockingbird Questions ZhiQing Li Chapter 1 Who is narrating the story? Why are the kid so interested in Boo Radley? What is Calpurnia to the kids? Do they consider her a part of the family? Chapter 2 Why was scout looked down upon just because she learned how to read before the other kids? Was the reason why Ms. Caroline failed to understand scout is because of her lack of experience? Does scout recognize the failure in the education system? Chapter 3 Why did Calpurnia…

“At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation, and prejudice” (Gore Vidal). In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee suggests that innocent people are so often misunderstood. Growing up in the small southern town of Maycomb County, young Scout learns through her father, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view… until you climb into their skin and walk around in it.” (Harper Lee 30). This is exemplified…